Bank your sperm from home

For men wishing to store their sperm, a new at-home product may help that desire become a reality.

Traditionally, if a man wanted to donate or bank his sperm, he would need to go out to a sperm bank and produce a sample of his semen in an on-site room. From there, the clinic or bank would prepare the sample for cryopreservation.

This procedure works well, but may be difficult for men living in a rural area without convenient access to a bank. Furthermore, some men just aren’t interested in producing a semen sample on-site at a bank.

A new DIY sperm banking kit was recently launched to help men overcome these barriers. Cleveland Clinic designed its “NextGen” sperm banking kit so men can collect their samples in the comfort of their own home.

The setup is easy. Customers contact the clinic and request the kit. The kit arrives at their home and includes a specimen cup, sperm preservation media, ice packs, and a return shipping label.

Once the man has collected the sample, it is mixed with the preservation media, packed with the ice, and sent back to the clinic for the man’s choice of cryopreservation options.

Though the company asserts that the sample viability is comparable to what is expected if the donation occurred at the clinic, experts caution that mishandling of the sample could lead to poor viability.